Page 48 of An Island Summer
Unsure of his clarity without being able to see him, she added, “I just wanted to tell you so you didn’t worry. I’m going to go now, okay?”
“When are you going to stop, Hester?” Rupert finally said, the words coming out irritated, as if she did this kind of thing all the time.
Meghan sat up straight, pressing the phone to her ear to focus on his answer over the sound of the ocean and the buzz of tourists going in and out of the coffee shop. “What do you mean?”
“You flaunt yourself around, go to parties all day and all night, you fall for anyone who gives you attention, and I’ve had it. You will never find self-worth in other people. Youhaveto trust yourself.”
“Where is this coming from?” she asked, baffled by the one-eighty he’d taken.
“You have someone coming over tonight!”
“Oh!” she said. “No, not like that. I have an electrician coming over. I’ve had an issue with the wiring in my kitchen and I need to get it fixed.”
“All right,” he said, his tone sounding as though he were unconvinced.
“I promise that’s all it is. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” she said, trying to settle him down.
“I do wish you’d look around at what you have once in a while. It’s pretty damn great.”
Tess came out, a to-go cup in each hand, the door swinging closed behind her, shutting out the hum of chatter inside and leaving them with only the sounds of the ocean and the wind. Meghan pointed to her phone, making a face.
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Rupert,” she said. “I have to go.”
“Always on the go,” he said just before he hung up.
Meghan set her phone on the table, feeling unsettled. “Well, that went well,” she said dryly.
“Did he go off the rails?” Tess asked, sliding Meghan’s latte over to her, through a beam of sunshine that illuminated the table.
“No, but he seems to think that Hester is quite the social butterfly,” she said, explaining how he’d reacted.
Tess sat back in the chair, tipping her face up toward the sun before she said, “It sounds like this Hester Quinn was a handful.”
“Indeed.” Meghan took a long drink from her coffee, thinking how much she would need the caffeine boost today.
“So, I’ve found the problem,” the electrician said, as he placed his screwdriver back into his bag of tools.
Meghan let out a relieved breath. They were about to roast in the summer heat without the air conditioning, and she couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of the issue. “That’s great. What is it?”
“The wiring is bad.”
“Okay, which area? The kitchen?”
“No. All the wiring in this house is going to need to be replaced, and I’d suggest installing central air as well, as that little window unit isn’t going to cut it with the current structure. It’s probably what’s overpowering the system.”
“How do you know there’s something wrong with all the wiring?” Tess asked.
“The insulation’s deteriorated, leaving most of the wires throughout exposed. If you continue to go on with them exposed, it could burn the house down.”
“What’s this going to cost us?” Meghan asked, nearly breathless at the thought.
The electrician set his bag of tools on the kitchen table, the dusty bag grazing the corner of Pappy’s envelope. Meghan scooted it away, her stomach churning with the situation at hand. “Well, for a house this size, I’d say electrical would run you around two thousand dollars, and if you decide on central air, that would be an additional five thousand, probably.”
“Seven thousand dollars?” Meghan sank down into a kitchen chair to keep her knees from buckling.
“Yep,” the electrician said, unmoved by her response. “Today, it’s just the service fee of a hundred dollars. Are you paying by check or would you like us to bill you?”
“Uh,” she said, her mind still on the cost and the money she didn’t have to pay it. “Bill me.”
